A Closet Remodel:The Chaos Continues

So the closet is happening! And I am a bit of an organizing geek, so I could not be more thrilled about this.

Impressively, I got an install date on July 7th! So soon! They were actually able to install it sooner, but I knew I wouldn’t be ready by then. There’s a lot of work to be done. Such as:

emptying out the closet

removing the current closet racks

spackling the holes in the wall

vacuuming and steam cleaning the carpet (easier to do before the closet system goes in on top of it)

priming and painting the room (a very ridiculous color)

Given that it’s hot and humid outside, and therefore slightly humid inside, I’m worried about the paint (and spackle and carpet) drying, so I’m trying to give myself as much time as possible to get the paint onto the walls. Plus I’d like to have a little bit of fun during the holiday weekend next weekend. That means that this weekend, I had quite a bit to get done. It was worthwhile, but it reaffirms that there is no way I should be building and installing this closet system by myself.

I can DIY, and I am good at learning on the fly, but I just don’t have the time to do it. Nor do I particularly enjoy it. I know some people like the satisfaction of a job well done, but I like instant gratification. To each his own, and that’s something fascinating I’ve learned reading finance blogs. We each have our own lists of saves and splurges. What’s important is that everything in life isn’t a splurge. Just those things that are important to us.

As part of all of this, I’m realizing how painfully disorganized my closet really was. I did my entire move into this house as quickly as possible. I grabbed stuff from my apartment, drove it here, and put it somewhere. My closet has clothing in it that I haven’t worn in years. I definitely recognize things I haven’t worn since law school, and I graduated seven years ago. I’d say it’s time to clean things out.

Since I’m getting rid of so much clothing, for the first time, I’m making a point to itemize my donations so that I can get a good receipt and claim the additional deduction on my taxes next year. It’s more work than I expected, but I’m slowly packing up boxes (while waiting for things to dry) and taping a list of the contents to the top of each box. I’m hoping to finally get to a donation center sometime next month. This is one of those things that I inevitably put off.

(This also means that I will have significantly less to put back into the closet that is designed to hold significantly more. It makes me wonder what other things I have squirreled away in closets that could be moved. Well, culled through, then moved.)

But back to the closet. It’s not a cheap endeavor. But I also believe that if something is worth doing, it’s worth doing right. So I’m using good paint and I plan to buy quality baskets and bins to use on the shelves in the closet. It’s going to cost a pretty penny, but I cannot wait for it to be done.

I did decide to hold off on putting a mini-chandelier in though. Those things run around $100! That’s a lot of money for something that’s just for fun. I’ll just have to watch for one second-hand.